Ray Blisset

Born 1908

“The Blizzard”

We came from Newcastle coalfields
and settled in Pennant Hills where we
had our own sawmill... “Blissert Mill.”
Some of the ecologists would kill me if
they knew the beautiful timber we cut
in Blue Gum Creek (Amaroo Speedway
Annangrove area) We had horses
by then. We used our old bullock
wagon and 7 horses pulling it. We
hauled the Blackbutt and Blue
Gum from Blue Gum Creek to
our Pennant Hills sawmill... From
Round Cnr. to Baileys Cnr. and
along Castle Hill Rd to Pennant
Hills West. The bullocks became
outmoded because of the metal
roads... their feet couldn’t stand
it and horses were faster. I drove
‘em (bullocks) as a young bloke
of 14 and 15 for Walter Alley a
bullocky in Bullaroo. Oh I could
drive ‘em alright - 14 in a team.
But the metal roads buggered the
bullocks teams.

Well I could see no future
in the sawmills... the depression
was heading that way. See the
timber strike in 1929 started
the depression locally. The coal
miners and timber workers were
locked out. Well I joined the
coppers and I went to the Glebe
right at the start of the timber
strike 28/29. The razor gangs
were very active in Sydney and
Melbourne when I joined. They
used blade razors. They carved
people up. They could really
slash ‘em. See a copper then
could be a copper. I was known to be
a copper. You never walked around a
hooligan. You walked straight into em
Bang! We had a free hand. Oh yes. If
they were real bad ya went out bang and
picked him up. If he complained ya went
bang again! Simple as that. Effective? Was
it ever! I eventually got a QPM (Queens
Medal for Distinguished Police Service)
and became Chief of the CIB which no
longer exists thanks to Neville Wran
and a few boneheads. The CIB ran the
show - rough justice - it was good, very
effective. Gaols were full of people like
Chow Hayes. Billy Ollibone. I pinched
Clarrie Thomas, a gunman. I locked
Lenny McPherson up. All the gangs. You
could lock ‘em away. Find ‘em in the
wine bars and brothels. It broke ‘em
up... buggered ‘em. See they’re all dead.
I can say what I like about ‘em. But I’m
getting a bit long in the tooth myself.
Nifty is still alive so I’ve got to be careful
what I say about him. I had a lot to do
with Darcey Dugan. I knew him when
he was a paper boy in the Glebe and a
notorious gaol breaker. Len McPherson
led Dugan up to Ray Kelly and others
to do jobs. When Graham Thorne was
kidnapped (1960) I was a uniform
inspector in charge of Paddington and
knew Basil Thorne cause I played golf
with him and he won 100,000 pounds.
The fellow who took the ransom
demand was Larry O’Shea. ‘Cause in the
meantime the boy died. The man who
really solved it with incredible brains
and persistence was a detective named
Ron Coleman... another coalfields boy
(laughter)... I first met Tilly Devine when
I was a uniform constable at Regent St.
She was one of the first moles to get silk
stockings.

Kate (Leigh... Queen of Sly Grog).
Of course Kate was an old bitch. She
married Shiner Ryan. I knocked on the
door at Devonshire St. Surry Hills when
she had her Sly Grog shop. Kate said, ‘Yes
Blizzard what do you want?’ I said Kate
I’d like you to meet detective Bill Neilsen
from Perth. She grabbed him and kissed
him and said ‘Bill you ol’ bastard how
are you?’ I said you know
Bill? And she said ‘Oh Blizz.
what’s up with you? You know
I know all the shit. ‘These
are the things I could sit here
all night... In my opinion in
Australia in my day we were
lucky we only had the rubbish.
No big Al Capone types. The
gunmen and bludgers and
urgers and standover men like
McPherson used to bludge off
the moles and they liked it.
SP betting was infested with
low class bum crims. There
was never anything here like
in Chicago. When the Queen
came out here I had to send
experienced detectives to
every country centre she was
to visit. You couldn’t take
your eye off her. I had many
a sleep on the staircase of the
Australian Hotel. When the
Beatles came I was inspector
in charge at Liverpool and
they brought me into town to
guard their hotel. They always
got onto me ‘cause I used to
flatten hooligans. The Beatles
passed right by me. They had
no effect on me. I’m tone deaf
and I was 56 (laughter). In
life pay the rent, look people
in the eye and tell em what you think...
and never back away from a hooligan
(laughter). It’s alright what ya doing
Mick but I wouldn’t say I’m wrapped up
in ya head gear, ha ha ha ha!

The Blizzard is most historical for his
ten-year role in solving the Pyjama Girl
murder mystery and for cleaning-up ‘The
Glebe’ with ‘Bumper’ Farrell.

Mick Joffe

’02

More Characters

Since the early 1970s, Mick Joffe's passion has been to caricature and record endangered characters of Australia, and the world.
As of 2015, the majority of these interviews exist only in manuscript form.